Double-acting container safety closure

ABSTRACT

The present invention includes a safety closure for use with a container, wherein a double-acting safety structure prevents the undesired removal of a cap from its associated container. Rotation of the cap in a tightening direction will result in threaded engagement with a safety ring member encircling the container&#39;&#39;s neck, while attempts to remove the cap from a tightened position by rotating same in the opposite direction will be fruitless, due to a lack of relative rotary movement between the cap and the ring member.

United States Patent Markowitz 1 Sept. 16, 1975 {54] DOUBLE-ACTINGCONTAINER SAFETY 3,486,654 l2/l969 Schellhas 220/39 R 3,567,057 3/l97lLandcn H 215/43 R 3,656,646 6/1970 Taylor 215/9 [75] Inventor: lsral J.Markowitz, Closter, NJ.

I73| Assignee: Stem Development Corporation,

New York, N.Y,

[22] Filed: Sept. 27, I972 [2| 1 Appl. No.: 292,558

Related U.S. Application Data I63] Continuatiomimpart of Ser. No.[41,524, May 10, l97l, Pat. No. 3,768,703, and a continuation-in-part ofSer, Nov 850,897, Aug, 18, [969, Pat, No, 3,595,427, which is acontinuation-impart of Ser. No 680,937, Nov. 6, I967, Pat, No 3,462,045,which is a continuation-in-part of Ser, No. 9,228, May [3, l970, Pat No.3,655,100.

I52| US. Cl. 220/319; 2l5/274; 2l5/330; 2l5/336 [5l Int. Cl......,.......,....M...B65D 41/08; B65D 45/30, 865D 55/02;A6l H00 [58]Field of Search 220/39 R, 288, 3l9; 2l5/43 R, 9, 42, 4l, 274, 276, 330,336

l 56| References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,403,803 l0/l96l'lMarkowitz 215/9 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS l,550,450 ll/l968 France2l5/43 R 1,560,099 2/1969 France r. 2l5/43 R 559,264 8/1957 Belgium i.2l5/43 R Primary ExaminerGeorge E, Lowrance Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Lilling & Siege] [57] ABSTRACT The present invention includes asafety closure for use with a container, wherein a double-acting safetystructure prevents the undesired removal of a cap from its associatedcontainer. Rotation of the cap in a tightening direction will result inthreaded engagement with a safety ring member encircling the container'sneck, while attempts to remove the cap from a tightened position byrotating same in the opposite direction will be fruitless, due to a lackof relative rotary movement between the cap and the ring member,

3 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures DOUBLE-ACTING CONTAINER SAFETY CLOSURE Thispatent application is a continuation-in-part application of my pendingapplication Ser. No. 141,524 filed May 10, 1971, entitled Safety CoverCap For An Aerosol Container Or The Like", now U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,703,which, in turn. is a continuation-in-part application of two patentedapplications, namely: (1 application Ser. No. 850,897 filed Aug. i8,[969, entitled Safety Aerosol Cover Cap," now US. Pat. No. 3,595,427 onJuly 27. [971, and which. itself. is a continuation-in-part ofapplication Ser. No. 680,937 filed Nov. 6, I967, now U.S. Pat. No.3,462,045: and (2) application Scr. No. 19,228 filed Mar. 13. 1970 andentitled "Safety Cover Cap For An Aerosol Container." now U.S. Pat. No.3,655,100 dated Apr. H, 1972.

This invention relates generally to container closures, and moreparticularly to a safety closure for use with containers.

In virtually every household, an infinite variety of substances rangingfrom medicinal preparations; tablets and liquids to cleaning andpesticide solutions are maintained in bottle-type containers. A numberof children become ill and even die every year as a result of consumingcontents of such containers. These substances present a clear andpresent damper in the hands of children. Despite the attempts of parentsto keep such dangerous substances out of the reach of children. theirendeavors often fail and children always seem to find the means by whichto reach the unreachable."

A great need presently exists for a safety container or safety closurewhich is simple in design. ecomonical to manufacture. and reliablycapable of inhibiting removal attempts by children. My inventionprovides such a closure. in addition to various safety aspects of thisinvention. the novel structure described in detail below furtherprovides inherent double self-locking characteristics which are quitevaluable during shipping. for example. when containers are subjected toprolonged vibration. It must be further emphasized here that the formsof closure which are the subject of this invention are not restricted touses in conjunction with containers for substances which are potentiallydangerous to children, but may be used in conjunction with containersfor other substances as well.

Prior art attempts to solve these needs have resulted in rather complexand relatively expensive structures which are not reliably operative.U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,646 dated Apr. 18, 1972 to C. R. Taylor discloses anexample of an unsuccessful attempt to solve such problems. in oneembodiment disclosed in this patent, three separate members are utilizedwith a container to control the relative movement between a closure capand its associated ring member. The use of a helical spring member inthis Taylor device both adds to the cost of the combination. as well asadding to the cost of the assembly of these elements.

in the first embodiment disclosed in the abovemcntioned Taylor patent,special handling is needed to align a ring with the container neck.including visual assistance. only to assemble a device which is highlyprone to wear and. thus, is quite unreliable.

My remarks concerning this prior art should in no way be construed as areflection upon those seeking with me answers and solutions to anindustry problem but rather are highlighted here to give the reader achronological picture of the more recent state of the art.

Accordingly. it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved safety container closure.

Another object of this invention is to provide a safety closure for usewith a container in which a double'lock feature prevents undersiredopening of the container.

A further object is to provide a safety container closure which utilizesthe cooperative interaction between a cap. a ring member, and acontainers neck portion only.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a container closurewhich, in a predetermined manner, controls the removal characteristicsof the container cap.

The present invention fulfills the aforementioned objects and overcomesthe disadvantages of prior art solutions to problems by providing in apreferred embodiment of my invention, a container such as a plastictablet bottle, for example, is formed with a neck portion of reduceddiameter. A ring member formed on its outer surfaces with helicallyextending external threads normally encircles or annularly surrounds theneck portion. A cap or cover member formed with internal threads isadapted to engage and threadedly mate with said ring member such thatclockwise rotation (for example) or tightening of the cap by the userwill further advance the mating engagement between the cap and the ringmember, thereby actually closing the contents of the container from theatmosphere. During this tightening movement of the cap, safety means.described in detail below, enables relative movement between the cap andthe ring by inhibiting rotary movement of the ring in the samedirection.

Opening of a container equipped with a safety closure according to thepresent invention is another matter. however. A child, for example, whohas learned to unscrew containers and possibly many other articles aboutthe house (to its parent's dismay), will normally attempt to open thisclosure by rotating the closure cap in a counter-clockwise or removing"direction. This will not result in the expected. but instead will merelyresult in a turning of both cap and ring member without the removal ofthe cap. The child is thus isolated from what could very well be harmfulor poisonous contents of the container.

Of course, it is intended that a person educated with this closure'scharacteristics. such as by illustrated instructions upon a disposableoverall carton, be able to rapidly. simply and reliably gain access tothe container contents. This is facilitated by merely holding the ringmember relatively stationary during the counterclockwise or removing"rotation of the closure cap. A sufficient number of turns iscontemplated for removal of the closure cap to insure against a childsproper relative movement of the closure cap and its associated ringmember.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention together with theaccompanying drawings. wherein similar reference characters denotesimilar elements through out the several views. and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a container equipped with asafety closure according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged. fragmentary perspective view illustratingbottommost portions of a closure cover member or cap, according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view looking along thelines 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view similar to FIG. 3 andillustrating another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elcvational view similar to FIGS. 3and 4 and illustrating yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an aerosol container and safety closureaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view looking along thelines 707 of FIG. 6',

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevational view lookingalong the line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view illustrating analternate embodiment of the present invention in which a double-actinglocking structure resides;

FIG. I0 is a sectional plan view looking along the line I0-I0 of FIG.9-,

FIG. II is a fragmentary sectional elevational view illustrating anembodiment of the present invention for use with an aerosol container;

FIG. I2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation view similar to FIG. II andillustrating an embodiment of the present invention for use with abottle;

FIG. I3 is a front elevational view showing a safety closure cap of thepresent invention in association with an aerosol container, parts ofwhich are broken away to illustrate the structure with greater clarity;

FIG. 14 is a partial clevational view showing the lower region of theupper cap element of the cover cap illustrated in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a bottom plan view of the same upper cap element of FIG. I4;

FIG. I6 is a bottom plan view of a lower cap element comprising part ofthe cover cap assembly of FIG. 13; and

FIG. I7 is a sectional elevational view looking along the line "-17 ofFIG. 16.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings. in FIG. I a containerassembly I0 is illustrated wherein a bottle II is shown to be formedwith a upwardly converging neck portion 12. Atop and covering the openend of neck portion 12, a closure assembly I3 is shown to consist of acover member or cap 14 which, in turn, threadedly engages and is carriedby a ring member or ring l5.

FIGS. 2 and 3 better illustrate the structure makeup of cover member 14and ring member I5, together with their cooperative interengagcment witheach other and with neck portion 12 of the bottle II.

in FIG. 2 the bottommost edges of cover member or cap I4 are shown toconsist of a plurality of surfaces I6 which meet one another at similarangle to form what can be generally described as teeth I7. These teethor serrations I7 extend around substantially the entire base edgeportion 18 of cover member I4, and. as can best be seen in FIG. 3,matingly engage and nestle within similar teeth or serrationsdesignating reference character I9 formed in an annular surface of ringmem= ber 15. A plurality of vertically extending ribs or grooves 20formed in the outer surfaces of cover mcm= ber I4 provide favorablegripping surfaces for the fln= gers of the user when tightening orremoving cover member I4 from bottle I I as will be described in moredetail below. Similarly, vertical ribs or grooves 21 formed in the outersurfaces of ring member I5 func tion in much the same manner and. whencover membcr I4 and ring member I5 are tightened in a tightened positionshown in FIGS. I and 3 of the drawings, ribs 20 and 21 substantiallyalign themselves to present a unitary and continuous surface to a child.for example. It should also be noted that the mere gripping of thecombined ribbed surfaces 20 and 2] during an attempt to remove covermember I4 from bottle II will result in the simultaneous and jointturning of both cover member 14 and ring member 15 counterclockwise, forexample. Note. ribs 20, 2] may be discontinuous.

Cover member [4 is formed in a cup-shaped configuration with helicallyextending internal threads 22 terminating adjacent base edge portion 18.Threads 22 normally engage external threads 23 formed in the outerannular surfaces of ring member IS, thereby enabling cover member 14 andring member I5 to matingly engage one another. as shown in FIG. 3.

Ring member 15 includes a converging conical inner diameter portion 24which meets cylindrical inner diameter portion 25. This innerconfiguration of ring member 15 facilitates its being positioned overand in contact with neck portion I2 of bottle 11. An upper bearingsurface 26 of ring member IS, when used with a bottle I I shaped in amanner similar to that shown in FIG. 3. will engage and bear againstoutwardly extend ing lip 27 of the bottle. Also. if desired a suitablennnu= lar bead (not shown) may be provided about cylindri= cal portion25 so as to stublize the ring member I5 axi= ally and prevent anycocking of the ring member I5 about the bottle neck. In this way. thecontents of bot= tie II are isolated from the atmosphere by a closurewhich will not be opened by children. for example Note. any suitablesealing means may be provided be tween the lips 27 and the inner topsurface of cover member I4.

In operation. with ring member I! situated about neck portion 12 ofbottle 11, as shown in FIG. 3, cover member I4 is threaded upon ringmember 18 by grip ping ribs 21 with one hand. while simultaneouslytight= ening cover member I4 with the other hand in engage ment withribs 20. During the final stages of tightening of cover member I4 uponring member il, a frictional yielding of teeth 17 over teeth l9 resultsin a firm; but removable, locking of cover member I4 with ring member15. Cover member I4 may be removed from ring member I5 by holding ribsII with one hand fid= tively stationary, and rotating cover member i4with the other hand engaging ribs 20 During the removal oi cover member14 from ring member IS there will be an initial purposeful resistance totheir separation by means of the intcrcngagemsnt oftseth I7 and 19 whichprovide a two=way relative movement with respect is one another.

The reader will note that the embodiment described for Flos. i=3illustrate teeth which are visible (see FIG. I) when viewing containerassembly l0= F'lb 4 and 5 illustrate alternate cmbodimcnis of the ceniiu= ration illustrated in and already described for Fl 5; i=3 whereinteeth I? and is are hidden from one view: ing container assembly I0= Theadvantages residing in the embodiments illustrated in FI. 4 and 5iiiElildE the additional difiicuiity a child will have in csinpre:

hending the manner in which one must act in removing cover member 14from ring member [Sin order to gain access to the contents of bottle ILIn FIG. 6, an aerosol container assembly 28 is shown to include acontainer proper 29 which is equipped with a closure assembly 30according to the present invention. It is contemplated that containerproper 29 consists of a conventional pressurized can'- made from sheetmetal, for example, and having cylindrical side walls 31 which terminateby transition in an upper conical neck portion 32 which, in turn,extends between a lower bead 33 and an upper head 34, respeclively. FIG.7 best illustrated the disposition of these elements and furtherillustrates a conventional valveactuating, linger-depressable button 35extending upwardly from the center of neck portion 32.

Closure assembly 30 consists basically of two cooperative elements,namely a cap or cover member 36 and an associated ring member or ring37. ln FIG. 7, it is seen that ring member 37 comprises an uppersubstantially planar portion 38 which is formed with a central opening39. The edges of upper planar portion 38 defining opening 39 arenormally disposed immediately beneath upper bead 34 such that ringmember 37 is free to rotate about conical neck portion 32, but cannot beremoved from the aerosol can because of the interference between planarportion 38 and upper bead 34.

Substantially vertically extending annular and cylindrical wall 40 ofring member 37 joins upper planar portion 38 at an annular corner 41,and is formed with helically extending external threads 42 whichmatingly engage internal threads 43 formed in vertical wall 44 of covermember 36.

An upwardly turned annular flange 45 defines a recess between flange 45and wall 40. A plurality of upstanding teeth 46 extend upwardly from ahorizontal portion 47 of ring member 37 joining flange 45 and wall 40.Horizontal portion 47 normally rests upon lower bead 33 of container 29.Reinforcing webs 48 join upper planar portion 38 and wall 40 atpreselected points and are preferrably molded integral with theremainded of ring member 37.

Cap or cover member 36, shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, includes thecylindrical vertical wall 44 already mentioned which is closed at itsupper end with a substantially planar top portion 49. An inner wall 50which is also vertical and cylindrical is integrally formed with topportion 49, such as by injection moulding, and extends substantiallycoaxially with respect to vertical wall 44. Walls 44 and 50 are joinedby reinforcing webs 51 at preselected points there between. In additionto the internal threads 43 formed in wall 44, this wall is furtherformed at its lowermost edges with downwardly extending teeth 52 which.in turn, are adapted to matingly engage teeth 46. Teeth 46 and 52 areyieldable such that upon the threaded tightening of cover member 36 uponring member 37, at the end of the tightening stroke which constituteclockwise rotation of cover member 36, for example, teeth 46 and 52 willexhibit upon forceful application deformable frictional resistancebefore interlocking with each other, thereby providing a rather safe,locked closure which isolates the contents of container 29 from a child,for example.

The reader will note that the embodiment described for FIGS. 68 includesa toothed configuration wherein teeth 46 and 52. and theirintercngagcrncnt. are not visible to the viewer of aerosol containerassembly 28. This invisibility feature is further desirable whenattempting to insure against the undesired or unauthorized opening ofclosure assembly 30. It is, of course, within the scope of the presentinvention to utilize closures described for FIGS. 1-8 with containers oftypes other than those illustrated for purposes of describing theinvention.

Turning now to FIGS, 9 and l0, a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is illustrated wherein further double-lock characteristics areexhibited. A closure assembly 53 is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 consistingof a container 54, shown fragmentarily, which is formed with aupstanding neck portion 55 extending upwardly to a lip 56. Container 54may be of the type already described in FIG. as container ll. Neckportion 55 of container 54 is formed with a plurality, pref erably fourof outwardly extending projections 57, each of which includes a bearingsurface 58. Bearing surfaces 58 of adjacent projections 57 lie in planesthat are substantially perpendicular with respect to one another, andthese projections 57 are relatively stiff.

Encircling neck portion 55 of container 54 is a ring member 59 which, inturn, if formed with an inner cylindrical surface from which ratherslender and suitably tapered projections 61 extend to their respectivefour extremities which, in turn. are in contact with bearing surfaces 58in the position shown in FIG. 10. While a specific structural shape orconfiguration of projections 61 and 57 are shown in FIG. 10 it iscontemplated by the present invention to vary the shape of theseprojections to accomplish the same functions to be described below.

It should be obvious upon viewing FIG. 10 that, assuming neck portion 55to be stationary, clockwise rotation of ring member 59 is inhibited bythe interfer ence of projections 61 with bearing surfaces 58 ofprojections 57. On the other hand, counter clockwise rotation of ringmember 59 will result in spaced and inter' mittent deformable engagementof the incline surfaces of projections 57 by projections 61 such that aretarding snaping action will be experienced upon counter clockwiserotation of ring member 59. The outermost vertical surfaces of ringmember 59 are formed with ribs 62 and threads 63 of the type andfunction already described for ribs 21 and threads 23, respectively, ofring member 15 (FIG. 3). Similarly, ring member 59 is formed with aplurality of upstanding teeth 64 which are similar to teeth 19 of thissame ring member 15. P0- sitioned atop ring member 59 is a cover member14 of the type already described for FlGS. lS and, for convenience,possessing the same reference characters.

In operation, it can best been seen in FIG. 10 that the turning of covermember or cap 14 in a "tightening or. in this case. clockwise directionover ring member 59 will result in ring member 59 remainingsubstantially stationary with respect to cover member 14 such thatinternal threads 22 will threadedly engage external threads 63 untilcover member 14 is near a completely tightened position. At this point,teeth 17 of cover member 14 will engage upstanding teeth 64 of ringmember 59 such that, upon continued tightening of cover member 14, teeth17 and 64 will matingly engage one another to provide a firminterlocking. FIG. 10 illustrates cover member l4 completely tightenedover ring member 59 such that the contents of bottle or container 54 areisolated from children of the environment.

To open the container or to remove cover member 14 from the container.it is necessary to grip ribs 62 of ring member 59 with one hand whileturning cover member 14 in a removing' or counterclockwise direction toforceably separate the two members. In the absence of this predeterminedmethod of removing cover member 14 from ring member 59. the mere turningof cover member 14 in a removing or counterclockwise direction willresult only in a free turning of cover member 14 together with ringmember 59 in a counter-clockwise or removing" direction with projections61 deformably passing projections 57 upon their repeated engagementwhile the entire cover member 14 and ring member 59 combination isturned. Children are prevented from gaining access to the contents ofbottle or container 54 with the aid of the com bination of projections57 and 61, which act as limit stops. together with the locking action ofteeth 17 and 64, respectively. This double-locking structural action isunknown to the prior art.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are meant to illustrate further embodiments of thisinvention wherein locking teeth 65 and 66 are utilized to interlock ringmembers 67 and 68. In the case of FIG. 11, this combination is shownwith a fragmentary representation of an aerosol can 71 formed with anoutwardly turned lip 72, while on the case of FIG. 12, a bottle 73 isfragmentarily shown to include an outwardly turned lip 74. The threadedinterengagement of caps 69 and 70 with their respective ring members 67and 68 is similar to that already described for cover members 14 and 36with their respective ring members and 37. In the case of the embodimentshown in FIG. 1], locking teeth 65 are visible, while in FIG. 12,locking teeth 66 are hidden from a person viewing the closure assembly.

Referring now to FIGS. 13l7 of the drawings, wherein details ofstructures described in my pending application Ser. No. 141,524 aredisclosed. FIG. 13 illustrates a safety closure or cap is theregenerally designated I20. and illustrated in position on a can oraerosol container 121. The container 121 may be conventional, includinga generally cylindrical body part 122, and an upwardly tapering portionor conical neck 123. The upper conical neck portion 123 terminates atits upper end in a relatively small, circumferential or annular bead123. The lower region of the neck portion 123 is formed with an annularof circumferentially extending upwardly facing groove or trough 124,which merges into a relatively large, lower circumferential protrusionor annular bead 125. A discharge valve stem 126 may extend upwardly fromthe container 121, cen trally within the smaller upper bead 123. and maybe provided on its upper end with a finger actuable button 127.

The cover cap or closure 120 includes a lower or inner cap element 130.and separably secured thereto an upper or outer cap element I31. Thelower or inner cap element 130 may be integrally formed of suitablematerial. such as plastic. or otherwise fabricated. as desired. and mayinclude a Cylindrical side wall 132, and a radially inwardly extendingannular flange 133 on the upper edge of the side wall I32. That is. theannular flange 133 of the lower cap element l30del'1nes a generallyflat. circular. centrally apertured top wall on the cylindrical. lowerelement side wall 132. The annular llange or inner element top wall 133defines centrally thereof a through aperture 134; and. a plurality oftriangular ribs or gussets 135 are arranged in angularly spaced. radialarray. each extending interiorly between the side wall 132 and annularflange 133. The ribs or gusscts 135 thus effectively stiffen andreinforce the annular flange 133.

Extending peripherally about and projecting radially outwardly from thelower edge of the lower cap element 130 is an annular flange 136, whichis provided on its radially outer edge with an upturned peripherallyextending lip or cylindrical wall 137 coaxial with and spaced outwardlyfrom the cylindrical side wall 132. The radially outstanding lower edgeflange 136 may be provided with cutout formations or slots 139 at spacedlocations there about. That is. the slots 139 may each extendcircumferentially. being arranged in circumferentially spaced relation.Further. a suitable formation. such as a dimple or depression 138 may beformed in the underside of the flange 136, adjacent to and spaced fromeach slot 139, as best seen in FIG. 13.

The lower annular flange 136 and its upturned lip or wall 137 may beconsidered together as flange means. providing an effective manualgripping and holding action with respect to the lower cover element 130,as will appear more fully hereinafter. In association with the aerosolcan or container 121. the lower cap element 130 has its opening 134receiving the conical container neck 123, having been snap engageddownwardly past the small upper bead 123 for retention by the latter ofthe annular flange I33. The lower outstanding flange 136 may extendradially over the upwardly facing container recess or groove I24 andrest on the lower. larger annular container bead 125, see FIG. 13. Thus.the lower cap element 130 is effectively retained against substantialmovement longitudinally of the can 121, as well as removal therefrom.while being freely rotatable relative thereto.

The upper cap element or closure member 131 may include a generallycylindrical side wall 140 ofa diameter suitable for closely spacedeircumposition about the exterior of the lower cylindrical side wall132, and hav ing its lower edge I41 engage-able into and removable fromthe upwardly facing annular channel 142 defined between the side wall130, lower flange I36 and up turned lip 137. When the lower edge 141 ofupper cap element 131 is engaged in channel 142. the upper or outercylindrical side wall 140 extends upwardly be yond the valve actuator127., there being provided with an upper end wall or top 142 extendingin closing relation across the upper end of the side wall 140.Additionally. a hollow tube-like member or backing element 143 dependsfrom the underside of the top wall 142 having its lower edge abuttinglyengageable with the upper surface of the lower cap element annularflange I33 Carried by lower regions of the upper cap element 131 are aplurality of fastener elements 145 for cooperating interfittingformation with the slots I39 and dimples 138, to define mating fastenerelements therewith. More specifically the fastener elements 145 may eachbe defined by an arm having :1 depending portion 146 depending from thelower edge 14] of the cylindrical side wall 140. Extending from thelower end ofeach depending arm portion 146 is a circumferential armportion 147, which extends a short distance. generally horizontally orcircumferentially of the wall 140, being in spaced parallelism with thelower wall edge l4l. The upper side of each circumferential arm portion[47 may be provided with a detent formation. tit, or protrusion 148projecting toward the edge 14].

In the assembled condition of Fl(l. 13. each fastener element or arm 145is engaged downwardly through a respective fastener formation or slot139 to locate the lower, circumferential arm portion l47 beneath theflange 136, within the recess 124. By manually grasping the flange means135. 137 with one hand. and rotating the upper cap element 13] with theother hand. the depending arm portions 146 are each shifted in theirrespective slot 139, and the lower arm portions 147 are relilientlydeflected downwardly by engagement of the respective detent 148 with theunderside of the flange 136. until each detent snaps into its associateddepression 138. This fully assembled condition is shown in FIG. 13. Itwill there be appreciated that grasping of either the upper, outer coverelement 13, or the lower, inner cover element 130 by its flange means136, 137 will effect simultaneous rotation of both elements freely aboutthe container 121. However. deliberate relative rotation of the elementswill permit of their separation. Such separation can only be effected bypersons having adequate coordination and information as to the structureand operation of the safety cap.

Assembly of the safety cap 120 with a container 121 is quickly andeasily made by mere snap engagement of the lower cap element opening I34about the bead 123. the backing member 143 serving to reinforce andstiffen the flange 133 for this assembly operation.

The embodiments of the invention particularly disclosed are presentedmerely as examples of the invention. Other embodiments, forms andmodifications of the invention coming within the proper scope of theappended claims will or course readily suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. A child-resistant safety closure for use with a container or thelike. comprising, in combination: a container neck portion having a beador lip member. ring means in the form of a cup-shaped element and formedofa plastic material with outer thread means and encir cling said neckportion so as to be freely rotatable thereabout and retained thereon bysaid bead or lip member, a cover member having a skirt and formed withinner thread means which normally contact said outer thread means ofsaid ring means during use as a unit freely rotatable in both clockwiseand counterclockwise directions, and concealed teeth means forming apart of both said cover member and said ring means for providingadditional frictional interlocking resistance of said cover member tosaid ring means beyond the resistance of said thread means; saidcupshaped element having an outer skirt portion and an upturned flangeedge portion forming a channel therebetween; the lower edge of saidskirt of said cover member being adapted to be seated within saidchannel; and the lower edge of said skirt of said cover member and thebase of said channel having said concealed teeth means; whereby removalof said cover member from said ring means requires the frictionalyielding of said teeth means while one of said ring means or said covermember is held and the other rotated to disengage said threaded means ofsaid safety closure.

2. The child-resistant safety closure according to claim 1, wherein saidcontainer is a pressurized container.

3. The child-resistant closure according to claim 1, wherein the bottomor base portion of said channel including an inner bevelled surface andsaid skirt portion of said cover member having a lower internal bevelsurface adapted to seat on the bevelled surface of said ring means, andsaid bevelled surfaces having said concealed teeth means.

Il l l

1. A child-resistant safety closure for use with a container or thelike, comprising, in combination: a container neck portion having a beador lip member, ring means in the form of a cupshaped element and formedof a plastic material with outer thread means and encircling said neckportion so as to be freely rotatable thereabout and retained thereon bysaid bead or lip member, a cover member having a skirt and formed withinner thread means which normally contact said outer thread means ofsaid ring means during use as a unit freely rotatable in both clockwiseand counterclockwise directions, and concealed teeth means forming apart of both said cover member and said ring means for providingadditional frictional interlocking resistance of said cover member tosaid ring means beyond the resistance of said thread means; saidcup-shaped element having an outer skirt portion and an upturned flangeedge portion forming a channel therebetween; the lower edge of saidskirt of said cover member being adapted to be seated within saidchannel; and the lower edge of said skirt of said cover member and thebase of said channel having said concealed teeth means; whereby remoValof said cover member from said ring means requires the frictionalyielding of said teeth means while one of said ring means or said covermember is held and the other rotated to disengage said threaded means ofsaid safety closure.
 2. The child-resistant safety closure according toclaim 1, wherein said container is a pressurized container.
 3. Thechild-resistant closure according to claim 1, wherein the bottom or baseportion of said channel including an inner bevelled surface and saidskirt portion of said cover member having a lower internal bevel surfaceadapted to seat on the bevelled surface of said ring means, and saidbevelled surfaces having said concealed teeth means.